Anime Information
The Hell Girl anime was produced in three seasons between 2005 and 2009 by Studio Deen. The plot of the episodes follows a girl named Ai Enma, also known as the Jigoku Shōjo or Hell Girl, and her group of followers as they carry out her duty of striking contracts that involve ferrying hated souls to Hell. Production The first season, titled Hell Girl (地獄少女, Jigoku Shōjo), was directed by Takahiro Ōmori and written by Hiroshi Watanabe. and revolves around the investigations of Hajime Shibata and Tsugumi Shibata into Ai Enma's secrets. It premiered across Japan on Animax on October 4, 2005, and episode 26 aired on April 4, 2006. The second season, titled Hell Girl: The Two Cages (地獄少女 二籠, Jigoku Shōjo Futakomori), was also directed by Takahiro Ōmori and written by Hiroshi Watanabe and details the past of each of Ai's followers and then the story of a boy named Takuma Kurebayashi. It aired across Japan from October 7, 2006 to April 7, 2007 on Animax spanning 26 episodes. The third season, titled Jigoku Shōjo Mitsuganae (地獄少女 三鼎, lit. Hell Girl: Cauldron of Three), was directed by Hiroshi Watanabe and written by Ken'ichi Kanemaki and revolves around Ai's possession of a middle school student named Yuzuki Mikage and that girl's past. It aired across Japan from October 10, 2008 to April 4, 2009 on Tokyo MX spanning 26 episodes. Animax also later translated and dubbed both the first and second seasons of the series into English for broadcast across its English language networks in Southeast Asia and South Asia, and also aired the series across its other networks worldwide in various other languages, including Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea, Vietnam, Europe and other regions. The first season of the series was also licensed for North American distribution by Funimation Entertainment. The series began broadcasting on the United States cable/satellite channel IFC in July 2008. The second season has been licensed by Sentai Filmworks under the title Hell Girl: Two Mirrors. Plot Most episodes are self-contained short stories in which the series narrates the suffering of a different individual caused by one or more antagonists. A website known as "Hell Correspondence" (also known as the "Hotline to Hell") may only be accessed at midnight by one who harbors a desire for revenge against their object of hatred. Should someone submit the name of someone against whom they bear a grudge or immense hatred, the Hell Girl will offer them a straw doll with a red string wound around its neck. If the string is pulled, she will ferry the target of the revenge straightaway to Hell. However, the client must agree to a pact where he/she will go to hell after their life has ended. Sometimes, Ai Enma shows them the consequences of going to hell; there is constant pain and suffering and they will wander for eternity. During each story, the protagonists' dramas are explained in detail from the start of their grudges, through the escalation of their torment until it becomes unbearable and they resort to accessing the Hell Correspondence website; however, this does not hold true for all cases. The Hell Correspondence website is accessible only at exactly midnight, and only if the client accessing it has enough hatred inside him/her. The client has to type the name of the person they bear a grudge on. After the client's request is posted, they are visited by the Hell Girl, Ai Enma. She hands them a straw doll, which is actually one of her assistants, with a red string tied to its neck. She then tells them that if they want their vengeance to be delivered, they must remove the red string from the doll, and their enemies will be immediately taken to Hell. A black crest-shaped mark will appear on the protagonists' chests after the revenge is carried out, which serves as a reminder that once their lives come to an end, they must give compensation for Ai's service by having their own souls sent to Hell. Season One: Hell Girl Season One of Hell Girl revolves around the investigations of Hajime Shibata and Tsugumi Shibata into Ai Enma's secrets, which begins from their introduction in episode 8. Hajime Shibata is a journalist and former blackmailer who turned to investigate the stories involving the Hell Girl. After an encounter with Ai Enma, his daughter Tsugumi starts to have visions of what Ai sees and thus the two become more involved in Ai's matters. Hajime doesn't agree with Ai's methods to deliver vengeance for her clients, and tries to stop those who contacted Hell Girl from using her service with Tsugumi's help. Season Two: Two Cages In Hell Girl: Two Cages a mysterious young girl from Hell, named Kikuri, is introduced. She is able to travel freely between Earth and the Twilight realm where Ai resides. She often follows Ai and her assistants anywhere they go, and even actively participates in helping them torture victims. Later, the plot in season two is centered around Takuma Kurebayashi, a boy who is blamed by his townsfolk for causing disappearances around the town, which was actually caused by the people of the townsfolk who used The Hell Correspondence. Season Three: Cauldron of Three In season 3, after Ai's death following the events of the 2nd season, her three assistants live out their existence in relative peace. This is suddenly shattered when Kikuri returns to recruit them along with a yokai named Yamawaro, who accepts an old offer from Ai to become her fourth assistant. Ai mysteriously reappears from the dead by possessing the body of a young schoolgirl, Yuzuki Mikage, to revive the Hell Correspondence. Yuzuki is aware of Ai's presence however, and she has been shown to see what Ai sees. Ai eventually separates from Yuzuki. Later, Ai reveals that Yuzuki is destined to become her successor. Episode List *List of Episodes from "Jigoku Shoujo" *List of Episodes from "Jigoku Shoujo Futakomori" *List of Episodes from "Jigoku Shoujo Mitsuganae" Theme Songs ''Hell Girl'' ;Opening theme : Sakasama no Chō (逆さまの蝶; lit. The Inverted Butterfly) :*Lyrics: SNoW, Hideaki Yamano :*Composition: SNoW, Asanjō Shindō :*Arrangement: Asanjō Shindō, Ken'ichi Fujita :*Performance: SNoW ;Ending theme : Karinui (かりぬい; lit. Basting) :*Lyrics: Hitomi Mieno :*Composition and arrangement: Masara Nishida :*Performance: Mamiko Noto ''Hell Girl: Two Cages'' ;Opening theme : NightmaRe :*Lyrics: Hideaki Yamano :*Composition: SNoW, Asanjō Shindō :*Performance: SNoW ;Ending theme : Aizome (あいぞめ; lit. Indigo Dye) :*Lyrics: Aa (savage genius) :*Composition: Takumi (savage genius) :*Arrangement: Masara Nishida :*Performance: Mamiko Noto ''Hell Girl: Cauldron of Three'' ;Opening theme : Tsukihana (月華; lit. Moon Flower) :*Lyrics: Nana Kitade :*Composition: Velvet Romica :*Performance: Nana Kitade ;Ending theme : Ichinuke (いちぬけ; lit. once through) :*Lyrics: Hitomi Mieno :*Composition: Asami Kousei :*Arrangement: Yasutaka Mizushima :*Performance: Mamiko Noto Category:Anime